Chapter 14 The Truth Comes Out! Possible Breakup?
Maritza and Marty arrived at the balcony and saw that it was in ruin and that there was some rubble on top of a body. They ran over to it and dug up the unconscious Ike.
"Ike?" Marty asked.
"If he was here then that means Eliza and Rusty were here as well." Maritza said and then noticed Sparkle and Sparkplug were running around to look for their trainers.
"Where can they be?" Marty asked.
"I don't know, but I have a bad feeling that they were hurt." Maritza answered.
"Damn, if we were here to help them and instead of having a great time, we would have stopped whatever had happened here." Marty said.
Both Red and Branch walked over and rubbed against him and he petted them both.
Sirens blared and the medical squad came and got the injured Ike and Officer Jenny investigated the area with the police squad. Both Harper and Flint rejoined them and they explained to the both of them what they found.
"So as I thought, they were after Rusty." Flint said.
"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Maritza asked.
"I think that Rusty was a member and left them for some reason." Harper said.
"How can that be? We knew Rusty for a year and he never told us anything like that." Maritza said.
"Well, it is possible, I read at Cannilave in the documents that someone came to Sinoh the same time you guys met Rusty from Hoen and I think he might be the one." Flint told them.
"Did he tell you guys where he came from?" Harper asked.
"It was Hoen, he told us that like what you said." Marty answered.
"this wouldn't make sense if he was a part of Aqua," Maritza said, "he could have been attacked or something."
"Well, we can't just sit here and try to figure out what he is or was, we need to find him." Flint told him.
"do you know where he might be?" Harper asked.
"I think I know where and I have a feeling Eliza's with him." Marty answered.
"Lead the way then!" Flint told him.
They ran towards the lake in order to find their friends.
Meanwhile, Starmie got to the surface with both Eliza and Rusty on its back. The both of them coughed up water and held onto its points.
"Good work Starmie." Rusty said and then turned to Eliza. "Are you alright?"
"A little, my shoulder hurts like hell though." She answered.
He smiled and said, "Good, as long as you're alright."
"How about you?" she asked.
"I will be fine, just a scratch." He answered.
"No it's not! You were stabbed!" she told him.
"Hey, I was able to keep consciousness for a few minutes!" he told her.
"But you need to see a doctor and not only that, I need to see one as well." She said.
"Well, we are way too far away from the Pokemon Center and our flying Pokemon are still at the resort in their Pokeballs, the only thing to do is reach land and try to find someplace to rest and wait for the search party to find us," he answered and then looked down at Starmie, "Can you get us there old buddy?"
It started to swim and it got them to shore and both Rusty and Eliza shivered from the cold that was coming off from their surroundings.
"We need to find shelter." Rusty said.
She nodded.
The both of them started to walk and after a few minutes, Rusty started to pant a bit.
"Rusty?" she asked.
"I will be fine! Let's keep on going!" he told her and they kept on going and managed to find a small shack that had some boating supplies and a boat tied to a dock.
"I guess we can stay here." Rusty said and then he collapsed.
"Rusty!" Eliza exclaimed and caught him with one arm and went to the floor with him. She felt some of the blood that was coming from the stab wound.
"Damn it, this is not good! He is going to bleed to death if he keeps on going like this." She said and then saw a first aid kit on the wall and took it and took off Rusty's jacket and shirt with her uninjured shoulder and having her injured one as support. She managed to bandage up the wound the best she could and leaned against the wall to keep her shoulder in place.
"I wonder why Rusty hasn't answered my questions yet. Did Ike do something to him and how how was he able to have a Starmie when he first had Sparkplug when I met him?" she asked.
After an hour, Eliza heard noises from outside and she woke up from her nap and noticed that she was hearing her and Rusty's names and ran out and yelled, "Hey!"
"Over there!" she heard a familiar voice and saw Marty, Maritza, Harper, and Flint running up to her.
"Eliza!" Maritza exclaimed.
Eliza ran over and the both of them hugged and she cringed in pain.
"Are you alright?" Harper asked.
"I will be when I have my shoulder looked at, but Rusty is hurt a lot worse." Eliza answered.
"what do you mean?" Marty asked.
She told them what had happened earlier and how Ike got beaten and then to how she and Rusty got to the shed.
"As I thought, he is or was a member of Aqua." Flint said.
"What do you mean by that?" Eliza asked.
"Think back when you had Ike with you guys and how he met up with you, he was using you all to get Rusty." Flint said.
"Wow, for an Elite member you sure can figure out everything easily." They heard and turned to see the two Aqua members.
"You two again!" Harper exclaimed.
"We came to get our prize back!" Shelly exclaimed.
"No way you're getting him!" Eliza yelled.
"Haven't you been listening? Rusty was an Aqua member that betrayed us and ended up coming here, so we had Ike track him down and bring him back and with all his failures, we came to take him to Cannilave where our leader is waiting for us." John said.
"It can't be true, can it?" Eliza asked.
"Yes Eliza, it is." Rusty said as he came out with just the tux jacket on.
"rusty." Harper said.
"I was a member of Aqua and that Starmie you saw with us, she was my Pokemon when I was on the team. The reason why I remembered all of this is that Ike returned her to me and all my dreams came together." He told her.
Eliza was silent for a moment and then she slapped him.
"You bastard! How dare you keep something like that from me and also be a member of a team that hurts people and Pokemon!" she yelled.
"I'm sorry…" he said and was hit again.
"Shut up! I don't want to see you again!" she yelled and ran off.
"Eliza!" Maritza yelled.
"Let her be, she's right, I shouldn't have hid a secret like that from her." He said.
"You didn't know any better, you lost your memories of it." Marty said.
"How can you say something like that when I hid that away from you as well?" he asked.
"Rusty…" Marty said.
"I guess you will be coming with us?" Shelly asked him.
He nodded.
"What?" Marty asked.
"You can't be serious?" Harper asked.
Flint held his arm in front of her and said, "Let him be, he is one of them."
"Very well then, I guess we will leave," Shelly said and turned to John. "Did the other members get Ike on the boat?"
"Yes, ma'am, he is still on there and knocked out and bandaged up." He answered.
"Very well then, come on Rusty!" Shelly said.
He nodded.
"Oh here, before you follow, here is the lure ball we caught your Starmie in." Shelly said. "She is in there by the way."
"Thanks." He said and followed.
"Rusty! You can't be serious about this!" Marty yelled.
"I am, tell Eliza I am sorry." He said and left.
After a while, Marty yelled, "Damn it!"
They found Eliza later on with tear stains around her eyes and helped her up and took her to the Pokemon Center where they tried to do something about it and they were told that they have to go to Pastoria for the doctor at the hospital there. Flint explained to Nurse Joy that he will be taking her and her friends there in the morning. Maritza, Marty, and Harper kept her company that night while they slept in the trainers' quarters.
On the way to Cannilave, rusty was finished having his wound get stitched up and get new bandages as John came in.
"Looks like the traitor has rejoined." He said.
"I am rejoining so that my friends won't get hurt like the people I hurt back in Hoen." He said.
"Friends? After hearing the truth, I guess they won't forgive you for what you told them." John said.
He was silent.
"Be glad you are back with us and I think Archie will be glad with your return." John said with a smile on his face.
Rusty was still silent and thought, Sorry guys, I didn't want you all get hurt especially you Eliza.